Cook Up a Sociable Solution

Posted: 17 December 2015

Mila Crewe-Brown

Elsa Young

Although French expat Marie and her husband Eddie knew very quickly that the Morningside property they now call home was right for them, it still required many major changes in order to achieve Marie's ideal of laid-back beach-house living.
Demolishing most of the original kitchen was a necessity. It was long, narrow, faced south and was very much tucked away. Given Marie's love of cooking, a more central kitchen - and an aesthetically pleasing one at that - was on the cards. Most of the old kitchen now forms part of the scullery, where appliances and dishes remain out of sight, while the more social side of cooking happens at a slender concrete island with an oak counter leading off it for breakfast and intimate dinners.
Instead of looking out to the back yard, this area now looks into the heart of the home and beyond it through sliding glass doors onto the garden.
It's definitely a much more sociable solution.